Thursday, October 28, 2010

Air France’s Comeback with Commercial Flights to Cambodia

Phnom Penh, October 27, 2010 AKP --
Air France, one of the major airline companies in Europe, is going to launch its first commercial flight from Paris to the Kingdom of Cambodia this weekend, after more than three decades of halted operation since the 1970’s.

Air France will operate three weekly direct flights from Paris to Phnom Penh, said Nicolas Deviller, CEO of the Société Concessionaire des Aéroports (SCA) at a press conference in Phnom Penh Wednesday.

Cambodia has many places of tourist attraction, including the Angkor Wat Temple, the Capital City of Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk Province and those places draw more and more tourists from Asia, he noted, adding, “with the launch of the Air France flights, there will be more tourists from Europe to the kingdom.

The route will be served by an Airbus A340 with a total capacity for 270 passengers. Air France also plans to use at a later stage the Boeing-777, increasing the capacity to 300 passengers, said Khek Norinda, Marketing and Public Relations Manager of SCA.

SCA has so far invested some USD230 millions for the investment in three airport improvement and management under a 45-year agreement (1995-2040) with the Government of Cambodia: the Phnom Penh International Airport and the airports in Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk Province, according to Khek Norinda.--AKP